


Dreamcatcher

by AerithFaremis



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25224751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerithFaremis/pseuds/AerithFaremis
Summary: Cloud knows he’s not the best roommate for the night. After explaining his past and his relationship with Sephiroth, he fears that the nightmares that haunt him will return to his mind that night and, in addition, having to share the room with Aerith.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	Dreamcatcher

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to another Clerith fic of mine!! I really hope you like it!! Feel free to leave a comment if you want, and I will happily read it!! ^^
> 
> PS: Thank you so much for reading my stories!!

“And that’s… that’s all there is to it.” Cloud sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, and fighting hard to avoid the gazes of his friends, who were absorbing all the story he had just told them some minutes ago, but he found it really difficult. He had that … kind of necessity of approval, to be somehow supported by his companions, so he glanced up.

First, was Barret. He was rubbing his chin, his soft brown eyes fixed into some corner of the room in which they were at the moment, thoughtful. Cloud had told them about his past and his relationship with Sephiroth and where his hate towards the great war warrior came from, and Barret was not even judging the way SOLDIER boy had reacted that time, because he was sure he would have done the same, but trying to understand how Sephiroth could had harm and slay a complete town without thinking twice.

“I see…” he murmured “no wonder why you hate that son of a bitch, Cloud. He is an enemy of the planet, but also an enemy of yours so… now we have another thing to fight for.”

Cloud nodded, silently acknowledging him. Barret had become something similar to a father figure to him, or, more like, the older, experienced brother he never had. Although they had differences and disagreements when it was about giving an opinion or making a choice, the blond mercenary had learnt to listen to his advices, and regarding to Barret, he had learnt to accept and follow different opinions.

“You have accepted me as your companion without questions, Cloud.” Red XIII intervened, walking towards him at a slow pace. His flaming tail was wiggling gracefully “fighting beside you is my way of saying thanks. I hope my nose and my knowledge are useful enough for your journey.”

“Sure they are” the blond said.

Cloud gazed at Aerith, trying to find in her eyes the reassurance he was looking for at the moment. What he had told some minutes ago was not an easy task for him, to revive the feelings of fear and desperation he had when he was younger or the cowardice and sense of guilt he had been carrying all those years. What was she thinking about him at that time? He, who always had that confident façade, he, who seemed not afraid of anything, failing his people like that…

But the only thing he found inside those emerald eyes was compassion and understanding.

“You know what I told you before we went through the portal. I asked for your help, to defeat Sephiroth. Now, you are asking for our help and for our compassion. You can expect both from me.” she said, a tiny smile showing up on her lips. He smiled at her too, healthy envious of her capacity of acceptance towards the others without judgement.

Finally, he looked at Tifa, but she was fidgeting. Her ruby eyes were avoiding his gaze and her hands were curled around her stomach, as if she was protecting herself from an invisible enemy.

“Tifa?” he asked, frowning. “Is something wrong?”

She made eye contact with him, but as soon as she did, she glanced over her companions, a nervous smile across her beautiful face.

“I…you know that I will always be by your side” she said, finally looking at him. Cloud nodded and half – smiled in appreciation, but he knew something was happening inside Tifa’s mind and she was not telling him what was troubling her. But he decided to ask her later, maybe she was only tired and he was imagining things. Now that he thought, they all looked tired.

“I…thank you all. Really. I know together we will defeat Sephiroth” he said. “Now…I’m going downstairs to book some rooms. We all are tired and it’s better to rest.”

He went downstairs, shaking his head in an attempt to stop thinking about Sephiroth, Nibelheim, flames and destruction. He leaned against the reception desk and the man greeted him warmly:

“Good night, sir. Would you like a room to sleep?”

“Yes, please” he replied, taking out his wallet.

“I regret to tell you that we have only two rooms left. A double room and the other one with two single beds.” 

That only meant they would have to share rooms. And _he_ would have to share the room with _another_ person. He knew he was not the perfect person to spend the night with: he usually had nightmares, tossed and turned constantly in bed, was a light sleeper and he could even bet he talked in his sleep. He was already feeling sorry for the person who had to share the room with him.

“Uh…alright. I’ll book the two, please.”

After having explained the situation to his companions, Red XIII said he did not mind sleeping on the floor, something he was used to. Tifa said she preferred a single bed and Barret was also more comfortable sleeping alone. Which meant Cloud and Aerith would have to share a bed that night.

“I don’t mind, really!” she said, giggling. But Cloud was sure she would kick him out of the bedroom in the middle of the night.

Once everybody was in their respective rooms, Aerith sat down on the bed. It was soft and comfortable, and it was already warm, thanks to the wool blankets resting above it. She kicked out her boots and slowly unbraided her

hair, humming a happy song between her teeth. Cloud unhooked his sword and placed it on a corner. Then, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, fixing his gaze on Aerith’s figure. It was relaxing, almost like a cooing, to see her delicate hands combing her hair as she was undoing her plait.

Then she looked at him over her shoulder:

“Aren’t you getting comfortable?” she asked with a playful tone, waggling her eyebrows up and down.

“I’m good” he answered, a tiny smile across his face.

“Okay. Then, why don’t you come to bed?”

“I, uh…”

“Are you sleeping like that? Leaning against the wall?” Aerith asked, amused.

“Well…don’t worry about me. You’ll be much comfortable sleeping alone. I’ll be fine” he muttered, feeling his cheeks burning.

He was not going to lie. Just the thought of sleeping next to Aerith that night was making him feel butterflies in his stomach. But he was afraid of annoy her with his constant toss and nightmares.

“Come on, Cloud! Don’t be silly” she said playfully, standing up. She walked towards him and putting two hands on his shoulders, she leaded him to the bed, sitting him down.

“B…but…wait…”

“Now, this. No need to wear it now, we’re in a bedroom, not in the middle of war or something” she giggled, taking off his shoulder pad.

Cloud huffed and looked at her at the corner of his eye.

“I need to be ready in case someone attacks us” he explained, and attempted to get back his pad, but she had already thrown it far from them with an elegant swing of her hands and was now removing his gloves.

“No one is going to attack us. Trust me! We will sleep like a log tonight.” she said.

Once she took off his gauntlets and put them over the nightstand next to bed, she held one of his hands between hers and slowly stroked them. He swallowed a bit, flustering. He had to admit that his hands were a very sensitive point of his body and they were very easily stimulated. However, he noticed that this massage was very different from the one that Madame M did to him some time ago: it seemed to be more of a caress, a gesture of affection.

“You know? Hands are the core of stress. And yours are really tired now” she murmured.

“Sword grip and all, I suppose” he said. Aerith continued her slow massage and, for a moment, Cloud let his eyes close and relished the moment. It was _so_ intimate, just the two of them, sitting side by side on the bed in silence as she was taking care of his hands. He paid attention to her deep, relaxed breaths and felt himself following her pace, and also, the touch of her hands, warm and soft on his, thin and calloused.

But as he began to feel a pleasant chill running through his body from top to bottom, Aerith let go of his hand. He felt the cold breeze of the room running through his fingers and knuckles and opened his eyes, trying to hide the frustration of losing the contact he liked so much.

“Feeling better?” she asked, smiling fondly. Cloud saw a faint pink tainting her cheeks, but maybe it was the dim lights of the bedroom which create such effect.

“Yeah. Much better” he said, and honestly, he felt relaxed and dozing.

“Great! Well, time to sleep now, Mr Bodyguard” she got up from his side and circled the bed, sitting down on the right side. Cloud remained sat, gazing at the way she stretched her arms and how she snuggled on the bed, covering her tiny body with the blankets.

After a brief time, Cloud mimicked her and laid on his back. He closed his eyes, suppressing a yawn. Then, he heard a soft, almost inaudible whisper coming from beneath the blankets:

“Good night, Cloud!”

He chuckled:

“Good night, Aerith”

* * *

It had been a few hours since the two of them had fallen asleep. All that could be heard in the room was the drowning noise of a radiator and also the sheets moving to one side to the other. There was also a very soft, almost stifled moan.

“No…no…not this again. No…I…I have to…I have…” the plea was filling the room, breaking the peaceful silence. Aerith frowned a little when she heard his voice, close to her ears, begging for something to end. She opened her eyes and saw how Cloud was shaking in his sleep and how his whispers were becoming painful sobs. It was impressive for her to see a single drop welling up from the corner of his eye and running down his cheeks, because he was suffering too much in his dream. She sat down on the bed, leaning forward to be closer to him.

“Cloud…” she whispered, caressing his cheek trying not to wake him up so abruptly “Cloud, come on, wake up…”.

“No…I…please don’t do this again…”he kept murmuring, his trembling hands gripping strongly her dress, his eyes still closed. Aerith endured the sharp pain she was starting to feel around her hips and tried to wake him again.

“Cloud…Cloud, is just a dream, wake up” she said, this time, shaking his shoulders a little bit.

Then, he woke up abruptly, his eyes wide open frantically looking around the bedroom as he sat down on the bed. He wheezed and raised a hand to his temples in a desperate attempt to mitigate the sharp pain. Aerith touched his fingers softly and frowned, wondering what kind of nightmare he had had to be suffering like this.

“Cloud, don’t worry, it was just a nightmare” she whispered, but he was still shaking. The girl could see his lips trembling as if he was fighting hard to suppress his sobs. “Don’t worry, come here, you are safe now” she murmured, her voice full of affection as she knelt on the bed and held his head close to her chest in a gentle embrace, resting her chin on his crown. She ran her hands behind his back carefully and she felt his strong grip around her waist, this time, unlike before, she did not feel any pain. She held him tight until the last trace of trembling in his body disappeared yet none of them break their contact.

They stood in silence for some minutes before Aerith spoke again, her voice a soft, tender whisper which resonated trough Cloud’s whole body:

“Feeling okay?” she asked, this time, raising her hands to his spiky hair and caressing it.

“Yeah…I’m sorry about that. Didn’t mean to wake you” he apologized. His voice sounded hoarse and low.

“That doesn’t matter now” she assured him “just so you know, I’m a light sleeper, so you didn’t wake me at all. Do you…want to tell me what your nightmare was about?”

Aerith always respected Cloud’s way of conveying his feelings and thoughts. She knew he had a great attachment to his personal and intimate space and she did not want him to feel invaded or forced to share with her something he was not sure to. On another occasion, she would have waited for him to open up about his feelings himself, but this time, she was so worried and frightened…she had never seen him crying before or feeling so lost, desperate. She wanted to do everything in her hands to make him feel better and protected.

“I… what I told you all before. About Nibelheim” he began. He let go of his grip and stare into her eyes, shining even under the dim lights of their room. He swallowed a bit before he continued. He knew if there was anyone he could confide in, that was Aerith. He felt so vulnerable and scared, that it was a necessity to tell her everything that was going through his mind and soul at that very moment. He needed a hand to rescue him, someone who could tell him that everything was going to be okay, that he could not change what had happened, that he had done things right. 

She held his hand and nodded for him to keep talking.

“All this time, it has been chasing me like a nightmare. Regret and guilt for not doing…for not doing enough to save them all, to protect them all. I could have done a lot more for them and yet…They … they are dead now because of me.” he explained, his eyes fixed in her hands, not brave enough to make eye contact with her, not ready to see another face blaming him.

She squeezed his hand gently:

“That’s not true, Cloud. You didn’t kill them. You didn’t burn your village to ashes and you didn’t destroy all those people’s dreams and hopes. Hey, look at me” she said, lifting his chin with her other hand. He looked at her and was surprise to see that there was no sign of prejudice in her beautiful green eyes, but sincerity and admiration. “I wasn’t there when it happened. But I’m really sure you did everything in your hands to save them. To help them. Sometimes we try hard to protect something we love but it’s not in our hands to achieve it. And it’s not your fault.”

“Do you…do you really think so, Aerith?” he murmured, his voice weakened.

“Of course, I do. And now, you have a chance to avenge those people you loved so much, that village you loved so much, to make sure their deaths weren’t in vain.”

“I … I suppose…” he said. “But… I can’t lie to you anymore. I… I don’t think I can do this alone, Aerith. I’m so lost and…”

“Do you remember what I told you before? You can expect help and compassion from me. You can rely on me anytime you need it, Cloud. You are not alone in this, you never were.” She said, a tender smile across her face.

He smiled at her too, looking at each other with great trust.

“Think you can sleep now?” she asked.

“Sure. I…feel much better now. Thanks to you.” He noticed their hands were still clasped together and he squeezed hers.

“That’s good!” she cheered. She laid on her back and Cloud did the same, but his breath went away when he felt two slender, warm arms wrapping around his waist and a mess of brown curls resting delicately over his chest.

“Uh…Aerith?” he called her. He really did not matter to sleep like this, close to her, feeling her warm body against his, the smell of flowers and earth flowing inside his nose. But he did not want to bother her again or something in case he had another nightmare.

“When I was a child, and I had bad dreams, I used to hug my teddy bear tight to sleep better. It soothed my heart a lot. I thought maybe if I do the same with you…you will calm down too. You don’t mind, do you?” she explained in a whisper.

“No, I don’t m…” but before he could say anything else, he heard soft snores coming from her, as her chest was going up and down slowly with deep breaths. She had already fallen asleep.

He closed his eyes too, smiling softly. He even wrapped an arm tightly around Aerith’s waist and focused on her rhythmical breaths.

* * *

Cloud did not even notice he had fallen asleep when he woke up with the first sunshine coming through the window. He yawned, feeling relaxed and rested. It had been a long time since the last time he had slept so well. No dream had damaged his mind for the rest of the night. He then felt Aerith’s head on his chest, who shifted a little, sighing in her dreams. He looked down at her face. She looked like an angel, with long dark eyelashes, pink lips and a calm expression.

Cloud thought he should share the room with Aerith many more times from now on.


End file.
